The Art of Entertaining, Part 3

Menus and More...

Once a month, I’m sharing my tips on “The Art of Entertaining”.

My goal is to help those of you who might hesitate to entertain, to do so with pride and confidence. For those of you who are already veteran party givers, I hope my ideas and suggestions will be interesting and helpful to you.

NOTES from Parts 1 & 2

While Getting in the Party Mood in Part 1, we made our guest list and decided what type of gathering we wanted to plan.

In Part 2, Planning Ahead, we learned about organizing your guest list (especially for a large gathering), choosing the time and place of your event, and we discussed the different types of invitations available. Invitation samples were provided for our two events, a Tree Trimming Party, for the novice, and a New Year’s Celebration for those more experienced in entertaining.

We also discussed “To cook or not to cook” and explored the advantages and disadvantages of both scenarios. We then talked about the best way to go about choosing a menu for your event, and the different options for providing the food.

---

Hopefully, you have all done your homework, by checking out Pinterest, your favorite cookbooks and recipe boxes, and have come up with some menu ideas for your gathering.

As I suggested to you, start out with a long list of your favorite things, or recipes you’ve been wanting to try, and then narrow it down.

I started with the menu for our Novice gathering, a Tree Trimming Party for six guests.

As I continued to pick and choose, selecting menu items, I realized that since this would be a small group of family and close friends, I wanted the atmosphere to be casual.  Since they will be eating in my living room as they decorate the tree, I wanted to select food that was easy to eat without utensils and wasn’t too messy.

I also wanted to prepare things that could be done ahead of time, keeping me out of the kitchen so I could enjoy my guests and help decorate the tree!

As my guests arrive, I plan to have pick-up hors d’oeuvres set up on the coffee table. There will be small plates if needed, and lots of cocktail napkins.

I’ll have some hot spiced cider ready if the weather is cold, and plenty of wine. Always be sure to have nonalcoholic beverages available. I always keep sparkling mineral water in my fridge for anyone who might want it.

After about an hour, mugs of hot soup with sandwiches will emerge from my kitchen as the decorating and conversation continue.

As the party winds down, I plan to serve a tray of cookies and sweets with coffee.

If you are enjoying this series on the Art of Entertaining, please don’t forget to hit the heart (like button) and share it with your friends and family.

Here’s my menu and recipes for the Tree Trimming Party: